Ursula K. Le Guin, a prolific novelist best known for the Earthsea series and The Left Hand of Darkness, died Monday at the age of 88. Across more than 20 novels and scores of short stories, Le Guin crafted fantastic worlds to grapple with profoundly difficult questions here on Earth, from class divisions to feminist theory.

Does it suddenly seem like people are posting a lot of fine art on social media? Over the past few days, Google’s Arts and Culture app has exploded in popularity – even though it’s been around since 2016 – thanks to its viral selfie feature. You take a picture of yourself and the app locates a work of art that’s similar. It’s currently at the top of both iOS and Android’s most-downloaded lists.

But if you’re trying to access the app in Texas, you might notice that the popular feature is curiously missing. Texas is one of two states in the U.S. – Illinois is the other – where people can’t use it.

Turn on the radio, walk through a department store, watch just one online ad, and you’re at risk of getting a holiday song stuck in your head. Here's a montage of holiday-season earworms — love ‘em or hate ‘em, and a rundown of the tune KERA staffers just can't shake loose.

For a good time in Texas, few combinations beat the trio of Jose Cuervo, salt and a dash of lime. While tequila has long been a staple in bars across the Lone Star State, most Texans probably aren’t familiar with the labor-intensive process that goes into making the liquor.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: Leon Bridges does a Thanksgiving duet with Elmo on “Sesame Street”; Trinity Trails could expand to over 200 miles; Texas used to celebrate Thanksgiving twice; and more.

Oak Cliff's Bishop Arts District is in the midst of a makeover with new retail and apartments. A few blocks away, a new art gallery – Mercado Artesanal – aims to help the neighborhood keep its cultural identity.

The streets in front of the State Capitol building will be blocked off this weekend to make room for white tents and long tables piled high with books. Think of that new book smell – that’s the smell of the upcoming Texas Book Festival.

Some of the most celebrated authors in the world will be descending on Austin. The whole event is free, from browsing books to attending author signings.

Think about quintessential Texas cuisine. What comes to mind? Barbecue? Chili? Tex-Mex? How about chicken fried steak? Its roots are fuzzy, but most food historians agree, this iconic dish was born and bred in the Lone Star State.

Oct. 26 is Chicken Fried Steak Day in Texas – an official state holiday created in 2011 thanks to a pair of passionate Dallasites.

This is not a ghost story. But it’s a story about the ghost of a dream – a French dream – to build a colony for Frenchmen fleeing political and economic upheaval that began in Paris and swept across Europe in the late 1840s.

About 2 million American girls were born in 2002. That means they’re turning 15 this year. And many are celebrating with a quinceañera. It’s the rite of passage party usually celebrated by Hispanic girls. It’s similar to a “Sweet 16,” but celebrations are often much more extravagant.

There’s something about the familiar tune of an ice cream truck that sends people back to their childhood. For people in the Mexican culture, a different sound triggers similar nostalgia: Four copper bells clanging in the distance means paletas, or popsicles, are right around the corner.

In Dallas’ refugee-rich Vickery Meadow neighborhood, there’s a group of artists that’s determined to change the conversation around women and race. These artists are young, but age doesn’t stand in their way.

It beat out local staples like Pecan Lodge in Deep Ellum and Lockhart Smokehouse in Bishop Arts. It's the first time the North Dallas joint, whose name plays off Cadillac, has been recognized on the list.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram got its first new editor in nearly two decades this week. Lauren Gustus comes from Fort Collins, Colorado, where she also fought to pass legislation improving that state's open records laws.

North Texas is filled with taquerias and Tex-Mex restaurants, but there aren’t many places that specialize in Mexican fine dining. In Dallas, Revolver Taco Lounge in Deep Ellum is changing that with its new dinner concept. It’s bucking the trend that good Mexican food has to be cheap.

Opal Lee has lived 90 pretty remarkable years -- from the night, when she was a kid, that a mob of white protesters drove her family from their Fort Worth home, to her symbolic walk to Washington, D.C., last fall to make Juneteenth a national holiday.

With their candy-colored paint, intricate designs and hydraulic bounce, lowriders stand out in North Texas. But the cars can attract negative attention, too. An organization of lowrider enthusiasts in Dallas-Fort Worth is working to combat the stereotypes associated with the thriving culture.

Edward Burns led his first Easter mass as the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Dallas last weekend. He moved from Juneau, Alaska, a few months back, and he’s already making a mark. He started a task force on immigration and is leading a national effort to prevent sexual abuse in the church.